CSV Metadata Forensic Reconstruction

Overview

Reconstruct a user's activity history by cross-referencing metadata headers across multiple CSV export files. The core principle: headers are the schema, timestamps are the skeleton, and cross-file key relationships are the connective tissue -- before analyzing content, extract everything the metadata alone can tell you.

When to Use

• Multiple CSV files from a structured data export (platform takeout, GDPR export, API dump)
• Need to establish baseline metrics before deeper content analysis
• Need to identify data gaps, missing files, or schema inconsistencies
• Calculating account lifespan, activity frequency, content creation ratios
• Building a timeline of user activity from timestamps scattered across files

When NOT to use:

• Single CSV file with no cross-reference potential
• Unstructured data (logs, freeform text) -- use log parsing techniques instead
• When you need content-level analysis (sentiment, topic modeling) -- this skill is metadata-only